Europe Getting There
On this page: Dolomites | Chamonix | Zermatt | Camino
Dolomites
*** NOTE: We can also arrange private transfers. ***
Buses To/From Cortina:
Upon arrival in Cortina, you can walk to your hotel. If you Google “Cortina Bus Station” and your hotel in Cortina, you can see the locations. Local people will also be happy to give directions.
During July and August, we recommend that you pre-book the bus. They are public buses that may or may not stop at villages along the way. They are modern and comfortable, but there is no toilet. The bus from Venice to Cortina is 2.5-3 hours. If you are going to Alta Badia, there will be a 45 minute stop in Cortina, and then another 1 hour drive.
1) Cortina Express:
Daily services from Venice Airport and Venice Mestre train station to Cortina.
Daily services from Cortina to Alta Badia (from July to September)
Tickets can be purchased online, on board of the coach, or at the Cortina Express ticket counter located at Venice airport and Cortina bus station.
2) ATVO:
Daily services from Venice Airport and Venice Mestre train station to Cortina. Prices are about $15/person one-way.
Advance reservation mandatory, tickets can be purchased online or at the ATVO ticket counter located at Venice airport.
ATVO Instructions:
- Click on the Purchase/shopping cart near the top.
- Select Cortina D’Ampezzo for From
- Select Venezia-Piazzale Roma or Aeroporto Marco Polo for To
- Select the date and number of adults, and Find
- Find the time you want to travel and the Buy button
- Pick your seat, enter your name, and the Buy button
- Enter your information and make your payment
- You will get an email with your confirmation. Print this off and bring with you.
3) Flixbus:
Daily services from Venice Airport & Venice Mestre train station to Cortina.
Online reservation required:
Buses To/from Alta Badia:
From Venice:
From Venice, first you need to get to Cortina as explained above. From Cortina:
- From mid April to mid June: there are no buses connecting Cortina with Alta Badia, the only option is to get a taxi from Cortina (ask us for details).
- From mid June to mid Sep:
- Cortina Express (www.cortinaexpress.it) operates twice a day from Cortina to Alta Badia, calling at San Cassiano, La Villa, Corvara and Colfosco.
- Dolomiti Bus (www.dolomitibus.it) operates services from Cortina to Passo Falzarego. From Passo Falzarego, connections to Alta Badia are available hourly with SAD buses, the last bus operates at 17.55
- From mid Sep to Dec 26: there are no buses connecting Cortina with Alta Badia, the only option is to get a taxi from Cortina (ask us for details).
- From Dec 26 to end of March: Cortina Express (cortinaexpress.it) operates daily services from Cortina to Alta Badia, calling at San Cassiano, La Villa, Corvara and Colfosco.
From Innsbruck:
From Innsbruck to Alta Badia, regular trains operate between Innsbruck and Brunico, with 1 change scheduled at Fortezza. From Brunico take bus 460 to Alta Badia, last service operates at 08.19pm on weekdays, 06.19pm on weekends.
Getting To/from Selva di Val Gardena:
Flixbus www.flixbus.it :
Services from Milan, Bergamo, Verona, Venice, Innsbruck, Monaco to Bolzano. From Bolzano there are hourly services to Val Gardena: bus 350 or bus 170 from Bolzano train station to Val Gardena, calling at Ortisei/St.Ulrich, Santa Cristina, Selva/Wolkenstein.
From Innsbruck:
From Innsbruck to Selva di Val Gardena, regular trains operate between Innsbruck to Bolzano (2 hours) (some services also call at Ponte Gardena/Waidbruck). The train from Munich is about 4 hours) See http://www.trenitalia.com/
Then from Bolzano (or Ponte Gardena/Waidbruck), take bus 350 or bus 170 to Val Gardena (calling at Ortisei/St.Ulrich, Santa Cristina, Selva/Wolkenstein). This is about a 40 minute bus ride or 30 minute car ride. See https://www.sii.bz.it/it/siipdfOldtimetables
Getting To/from Val di Fassa:
Val Di Fassa is serviced by bus services from Trento and Bolzano train station (www.ttesercizio.it).
In summer, daily coach services depart from Milan, Bergamo, Venice, Mestre to Val Di Fassa, departures are scheduled very early in the morning, between 07.30am and 08.00am.
Haute Route / Chamonix
You will want your international flights to be into and out of Geneva, Switzerland (GVA).
There are several taxi and shuttle services that will take you from the Geneva airport to Chamonix:
- Easybus — Shared transfers
- Alpybus — Shared transfers
- Cham Express — Offers shared transfers (30-35 Euro/person) and private transfers
- Cham Transfers — Offers scheduled shuttle buses 4-6 times/day (20 CHF/person)
- Mountain Drop Offs — Offers shared door-to-door transfers (40-50 Euro/person) and private transfers
- Chamonix Tourism Office website — Transportation options
You can also reach Chamonix by train around lake Geneva by connecting to the Mont Blanc Express in Martigny. This is very scenic but takes much longer than a shuttle transfer. Note that the Col des Montets can be closed in winter. It is a good option if you’d like to spend a night in a Swiss mountain town on the way to Chamonix.
Some recommended hotels in Chamonix:
- Hotel de l’Arve (has condos as well)
- Park Hotel Suisse & Spa (very centrally located)
- Hotel Mont-Blanc (across the street from the Park Suisse but 5-star)
Zermatt
If you are traveling from Zermatt to Geneva or elsewhere is Switzerland, you should travel by rail. They depart almost every hour, and it takes 3.5-5 hours depending on the stopover time in Visp. It costs 60-120 CHF. Time tables and advanced tickets can be purchased on the website, in the train station in Zermatt, or the Geneva airport.
Camino de Santiago
Most people fly into the Santiago Airport. If you are doing the Portuguese Way, you can also fly into the Vigo Airport.
You will need a transfer to the start of the trek — Sarria for the French Way or Baiona for the Portuguese Way.
For group treks, the 5:00pm group transfer from the Santiago Airport to the starting point is included in the price. The return group transfer to the Santiago Airport is at 2:00pm, but you can also take an airport shuttle bus to taxi on your own if that time does not work for you.
For self-guided treks, there are bus options to the starting point, or we can arrange a private transfer.
Santiago to Sarria: The fastest is to take a combination of 2 buses. First, from Santiago Airport to Lugo bus station (1h50, everyday at 7:10, 11:10, 16:10, 18:40 + 20:10 except on Saturday). See: www.empresafreire.com. Then, take a local bus from Lugo bus station to Sarria bus station (30min). Total cost for journey roughly €15/person. Alternatively, you can book a private transfer from Santiago Airport to Sarria for $160 for up to 6 people.
Santiago Airport Transfers: For group treks, there is a free transfer to the airport on the last day at 2pm. We can also arrange a private transfer from Santiago to the Airport, or you can take a taxi, or a shuttle bus (runs from around 6:30am to 1:00am). It takes about 30 minutes to get to the airport.